Exploring Innovations in Teaching and Learning at Everett Community College

See the EvCC lightboard in action

Published September 18, 2017 by
John Melson

Last Thursday’s Opening Week session on “Cool things faculty are doing in the classroom,” facilitated by my colleague Peg, was great fun–and a good chance for me to find out more about some of the thoughtful and innovative work EvCC faculty are doing. I learned something from every presenter, and as a result my notebook is now brimming with new ideas for future workshops, conversations, and potential blog posts.

For now, though, I’ll mention just one of the cool things from the session: Joe Graber’s demonstration of the lightboard he and some of his EvCC engineering colleagues have constructed over the past year and are now using to create videos for their courses. What’s a lightboard, you ask? It’s essentially a transparent, edge-illuminated chalkboard you can use to create videos that show you and what you’re writing at the same time. If that’s hard to envision, take a look at this demonstration video that Joe has created to show off some of the lightboard’s uses and capabilities:

This is DIY educational technology at its best!

Joe will be hosting an informal demonstration at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19, in Whitehorse 109 if you want to stop by to take a quick look. Later this fall, we’ll also be offering a workshop on creating videos using the lightboard, combining a discussion of best practices in planning and structuring lightboard videos with an opportunity to visit the lightboard studio and give it a try yourself.

[Update 9/20/2017 — Joe an I will be facilitating a workshop on October 3, at noon, in Whitehorse 105. We’ll discuss recommendations for creating effective videos using the lightboard, then spend some time putting it through it’s paces. Light snacks will be provided, but bring your lunch — and your curiosity! For complete details, see our schedule of upcoming workshops.]